Women's increasing support for Germany's AfD challenges historical voting patterns
A persistent myth in German political discourse holds that women voters decisively brought Adolf Hitler to power in 1933 through overwhelming support for the National Socialist party. Historical research has debunked this claim, demonstrating that by 1933, women voted for Hitler and National Socialist candidates in roughly the same percentages as men. Today, a similar misconception surrounds the Alternative for Germany party, which has experienced dramatic electoral gains with significant contributions from female voters.
The Saxony-Anhalt election results
In Saxony-Anhalt's regional elections on September 6, the AfD secured 43.8 percent of the vote and 39 seats in the regional parliament, more than doubling its 2021 performance when it received 20.8 percent and 23 seats. The party's support base reveals a significant gender divide: nearly half of male voters (49 percent) backed the AfD, compared to just over a third of female voters (39 percent). Had only men cast ballots, the AfD would have achieved an absolute majority and governed alone. Women voters prevented this outcome, yet their substantial support contributed to making the AfD the leading party among both genders.
A notable shift has emerged since 2021 and was confirmed in these elections: the traditional gender gap in far-right voting is narrowing. This convergence represents a critical development for the AfD, as consolidating political power requires winning over female voters. No political transformation can succeed without women's participation.
Historical voting patterns in Germany
The changing pattern marks a reversal of historical trends in the Federal Republic of Germany. Throughout West Germany's history since the 1950s, far-right parties consistently neglected female voters, who in turn shunned political extremes. Women predominantly supported democratic parties, particularly the conservative CDU/CSU, which remained the party preferred by women almost continuously due to its traditional family values and close ties to Christian churches. Later, women gravitated toward other progressive parties. Their voting patterns provided stability for parliamentary democracy, while male voting behavior tended toward protest and anti-establishment positions.
This modern gender gap in German voting behavior, where women vote more left-wing than men, first appeared in the 2017 federal election and intensified in 2021. During the 2017 parliamentary elections, the AfD received 16.3 percent of votes from men but only 9.2 percent from women, creating a 7.1 percentage point gender gap. Research analyzing seven decades of German electoral data reveals that the gender gap among 18-24 year old voters reached its highest level in Germany's post-war history in 2021.
A European trend
The phenomenon extends beyond Germany's borders. Research using European Election Studies data from 2024 found that support for far-right parties among young men under 30 across Europe reached over 21 percent, compared to approximately 14 percent among young women of the same age, representing the largest gender gap among any age cohort.
Regional variations within Germany demonstrate the complexity of these trends. In the 2021 federal election, the gender gap in AfD voting proved weaker in the eastern states of Saxony and Thuringia than in other regions, suggesting the party has become more normalized in areas where it enjoys stronger support. Saxony-Anhalt's recent results reinforce this pattern of convergence in eastern Germany.
The AfD's expanding appeal among women occurs despite Germany's domestic intelligence agency classifying the party as a confirmed right-wing extremist group in 2025, a designation the party is challenging in court. This development poses fundamental questions about the evolution of democratic stability in Germany, where women voters have exercised the franchise since 1919, when more than 82 percent participated in the first election to the German National Assembly, nearly matching male turnout rates.
